Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Indian Health Service Deficiencies Makes It Difficult To Track And Treat Outbreak Among Tribes

Those IHS gaps put the health of Native Americans at risk and may hinder national efforts to fully eradicate the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports on how the lack of electricity and running water for many on the largest reservation leads to fear and confusion for those Navajo Nation residents.

Politico:
Where Coronavirus Could Find A Refuge: Native American Reservations
The federal health agency that serves more than 2.5 million Native Americans has only limited ability to monitor and investigate coronavirus cases across American Indian communities and reservations, slowing its ability to respond to outbreaks and raising fears that a lack of reliable data could compromise national efforts to eradicate the virus. The Indian Health Service is instead relying largely on Native organizations and health facilities to track the virus and self-report their findings to the Trump administration – an inconsistent practice further complicated by minimal testing capabilities, outdated health technology and provider shortages that Native groups warn could vastly understate the crisis across tribal lands. (Cancryn, 3/28)

Los Angeles Times:
No Running Water. No Electricity. On Navajo Nation, Coronavirus Creates Worry And Confusion As Cases Surge
Lisa Robbins runs the generator attached to her family’s mobile home for just a few hours most mornings. With no electricity, it provides heat in this rural high-desert stretch of the Navajo Nation where overnight temperatures often linger in the low 30s this time of year. Robbins first started hearing the whispers earlier this month — the fever, that sickness, something called coronavirus — but most people in this town of about 900 didn’t seem too worried. It was far off, neighbors told her, a world away in the big cities. (Lee, 3/29)

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